Confining and restraining devices are well known in the art and are usually employed to confine an elderly or infirmed patient to a wheel chair, bed and the like, to prevent injuries which may be caused as the result of a fall.
In addition, harnesses have been developed for use in suspending debilitated ambulatory patients. Such a system is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,780,663 to Pettit. The Pettit system includes a suspended overhead track network and a travelling "truck" supported by and adapted to roll along the track. A harness depends from the truck and is worn by the patient. The harness is connected to the truck by a tether and supports the patient in suspension during ambulation. The amount of support provided is adjusted according to the needs of each individual patient by means of an electric motor mounted to the truck.
Unfortunately, existing garments and harnesses have not been designed to ensure a comfortable fit. For example, with respect to the aforementioned patent, during ambulation of the patient, the garment may be essentially passive for a patient capable of walking without assistance and a degree of comfort may be afforded. However, during raising and lowering of the patient, or if a portion of the patient's weight is supported by the system during ambulation, the garment becomes active and due to an unsatisfactory concentration of the forces at one or more points on the garment, will result in discomfort to the patient due to cinching at certain points, particularly, the under arms, back, and groin area.
Another drawback to garments of this type is that they often interfere with the bodily functions of the wearer as they must be removed prior to use of restrooms, thus limiting their usefulness.
Furthermore, many of these garments are cumbersome to remove and require the unbuckling of straps, untying of knots, etc.
It is accordingly an object of the present invention to provide a fall intervention garment which overcomes the above-noted problems with the prior art, and which is comfortable.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a fall intervention garment which distributes the forces induced by a tether during support or a fall so as to minimize cinching or stress concentrations around fragile ribs.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a fall intervention garment which does not interfere with bodily functions and which is easily removable.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a fall intervention garment which approximates a vest and thereby obtains increased patient acceptance.